Fluorescent Probes for Imaging Lipid Droplets in Live Cells
Summary
Lipid droplets are dynamic organelles central to energy storage, lipid metabolism and cellular signalling. Fluorescent probes tailored to these compartments have become indispensable for visualising droplet biogenesis, turnover and interactions with other organelles in live cells. Key performance criteria include high selectivity for neutral lipids, minimal background fluorescence, strong photostability under prolonged illumination and compatibility with advanced imaging modalities. Molecular design strategies span environment-sensitive dyes (for polarity or viscosity changes), aggregation-induced emission (AIE) systems that turn on in dense droplet interiors, photoinduced electron-transfer (PeT) constructs for low background signal and solubility-guided tuning of partition coefficients (Clog P). Combining such probes with confocal, two-photon and super-resolution techniques (stimulated emission depletion, structured illumination) has enabled long-term, three-dimensional and multicolour investigations of droplet dynamics at nanoscale resolution. These advances have deepened our understanding of lipid-related disorders, from obesity and cardiovascular disease to cancer and neurodegeneration, and have opened new avenues for screening therapeutic agents that modulate lipid storage and mobilisation.
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Fluorescent Probes for Imaging Lipid Droplets in Live Cells publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in fluorescent probes for imaging lipid droplets in live cells across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Lipid droplets: Intracellular organelles composed of a neutral lipid core surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer, involved in energy storage and lipid signalling.
Fluorophore: A chemical moiety that absorbs light energy at one wavelength and emits it at a longer wavelength, producing fluorescence.
Photostability: The ability of a fluorescent probe to resist photobleaching and maintain signal intensity during prolonged illumination.
Stokes shift: The difference in wavelength between the absorption peak and the emission peak of a fluorophore, important for reducing self-quenching and background.
Super-resolution microscopy: Imaging techniques (for example, STED or SIM) that circumvent the diffraction limit to achieve nanometre-scale resolution.
Aggregation-induced emission (AIE): A photophysical phenomenon whereby a molecule exhibits increased fluorescence upon aggregation, enhancing detection in crowded environments.
Clog P: The calculated octanol–water partition coefficient, used to predict and control a probe’s lipid solubility and localisation dynamics within droplets.
References
- Photoinduced electron transfer (PeT) based fluorescent probes for cellular imaging and disease therapy. Chemical Society Reviews (2023).
- A new organic molecular probe as a powerful tool for fluorescence imaging and biological study of lipid droplets. Theranostics (2023).
- Clog P‐Guided Development of Multi‐Colored Buffering Fluorescent Probes for Super‐Resolution Imaging of Lipid Droplet Dynamics. Advanced Science (2024).
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